Kentucky Wildcats
SEC (24-10, 10-8)
Up to this point, it has been an extremely disappointing season for Kentucky. The Wildcats finished 10-8 in SEC play, which is by far their worst record since Coach John Calipari took over prior to the 2009-2010 campaign. Of course, all of the disappointment could easily be forgotten with a run to the Final Four.
Big Wins: 1/9 Texas A&M (74-73), 1/27 at West Virginia (83-76), 2/20 at Arkansas (87-72)
Bad Losses: 1/16 at South Carolina (68-76), 1/20 Florida (64-66), 2/3 at Missouri (60-69)
Coach: John Calipari
Why They Can Surprise:
This is still Kentucky. The amount of young talent is just about as staggering as ever. There are seven freshmen in the regular rotation and two sophomores. One of the veterans is Wenyen Gabriel who anchors a big frontcourt alongside Kevin Knox and Nick Richards. Knox is clearly the main scoring threat of the bunch, leading the team with 15.6 points per game. On the perimeter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Hamidou Diallo are big time scoring threats. Gilgeous-Alexander averages 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game on top of his 13.9 points and is a huge reason why this team does such a good job of taking care of the ball.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Kentucky turns the ball over too much and has low assists, far down in the SEC in both categories. The other potential issue is Kentucky’s three-point shooting. Knox will knock down some long balls and Gabriel and Quade Green will hit a few here and there, but nobody is a massive outside shooting threat.
Probable Starters:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Freshman, Guard, 13.9 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.9 rpg
Hamidou Diallo, Freshman, Guard, 10.0 ppg, 1.3 apg, 3.5 rpg
Kevin Knox, Freshman, Forward, 15.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Wenyen Gabriel, Sophomore, Forward, 6.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Nick Richards, Freshman, Forward, 5.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Jarred Vanderbilt, Freshman, Forward, 5.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg
PJ Washington, Freshman, Forward, 10.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Quade Green, Freshman, Guard, 9.6 ppg, 2.7 apg
Sacha Killeya-Jones, Sophomore, Forward, 3.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.9 (85th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.2 (144, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.6 (83, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (37, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.2 (342, 14)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.8 (182, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.5 (253, 10)
Rebound Margin: 5.5 (35, 3)
Assists Per Game: 13.3 (201, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.5 (230, 11)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over Northern Kentucky
2017 NCAA Round of 32 win over Wichita State
2017 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over UCLA
2017 NCAA Regional Final loss to North Carolina
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Stony Brook
2016 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Indiana
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over Hampton
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over Cincinnati
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over West Virginia
2015 NCAA Regional Final win over Notre Dame
2015 NCAA National Semifinal win loss to Wisconsin
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Kansas State
2014 NCAA Round of 32 win over Wichita State
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Louisville
2014 NCAA Regional Final win over Michigan
2014 NCAA National Semifinal win over Wisconsin
2014 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2013 NIT First Round loss to Robert Morris
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Western Kentucky
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Iowa State
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Indiana
2012 NCAA Regional Final win over Baylor
2012 NCAA National Semifinal win over Louisville
2012 NCAA National Final win over Kansas
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Princeton
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over West Virginia
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Ohio State
2011 NCAA Regional Final win over North Carolina
2011 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Connecticut
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over East Tennessee State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Wake Forest
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Cornell
2010 NCAA Regional Final loss to West Virginia
2009 NIT First Round win over UNLV
2009 NIT Second Round win over Creighton
2009 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame
*all team stats through 3/4
